had a great time but was so disapointed as the regional winners were the only ones not invited up on the stage and were not acknowledged at all. There was a couple of individual lines written on each of us in the programme book and that was it!!.I felt it wasso unjust as the other people I met had achieved so much as well and were not even mentioned. If it was the prideof britain then all awardees should have been treated as equals.this was a great opportunity to platform ovarian cancer and I never got the chance to do so. My famly and friends are so annoyed as well and i have been bombarded with calls emails and on facebook. I myself sent pride of britain an email telling them how i felt and I know other ovarian charitys and supporters have done the same. If different regions throughout the u.k. take the tme to vote for their awardee , then surely all the winners should be treated the same and their stories told or else it is all a farce. We were placed at the very back table as well.I just felt that everyone there were winners and should have been treated accordingly. Ithe daily mirror staff and I.t..v region staff were wonderful I have to say but it is always up to the big whigs .The way I look on it is we dont complain then nothing will change. Did meet a lot of celebs though and gave out target ovarian cancer leaflets to them at least I done my best and that is all that can be asked of any of us.x

34 Replies

Hi Una .. We watched and were so hoping to see you. I don't think any other the Regional Finalists were shown apart from Anne, the street pastor in Plymouth, but we felt she wasn't given enough airtime to do her achievement justice and it would have been better not to have slotted her story in that way. As the winners were asked onto the stage, we thought everyone would be there and were really disappointed that they weren't. When there was a presentation for two cancer pioneers and then speeches about how well progress is going on finding better treatments, I thought then that Ovarian couldn't be highlighted. The lack of awareness of this disease is a national scandal. You've done amazingly well and you've helped me and others by showing us your sheer determination to put the plight of those with Ovarian (and PPC) on the map. I was and am so heartened by your voice because I felt I was beating my head against a brick wall before I realised that people with important roles at the NI Assembly listened and took notice. That is one hell of an achievement and I'm so proud of you Una. Love Tina x x

I can understand exactly what you mean. BUT (and it's a big but) you have done a brilliant job for one woman to fight the tendency to ignore ovarian cancer throughout the UK and, indeed, throughout the entire world. And you have done us gaels good, so I am especially, as a fellow gael, extremely proud to have known you, even if it is only at a distance and online. Best wishes and thanks from us all. Vicky xxx

3 years agoHidden

Dear Una

I am sorry that you were disappointed with the way the night turned out for you. It certainly seems unfair to bring you over to London and then sit you at the back. I would much rather have seen you than most of the celebs. However, you are our Pride of Britain. What you have done to raise awareness of OC in Northern Ireland is awe inspiring. Well done!

Agree with all of the above. How many regional winners were there? They should have made air time for you all. I still felt very proud of what you have achieved and disappointed at the end when you hadn't been on stage. Please can we see a photo of you in your lovely teal dress . Keep up your amazing work - you and others have inspired me to do more ,

It's a real shame that the Pride of Britain awards did not do what you gave done for OC justic, and highlighted on TV. You have managed to get your voice heard and that's the main thing. Well done and congratulations xx

3 years agoHidden

I ,too,was very disappointed not to see you last night.Seems very unfair.

I hope you are not too disheartened as you have achieved so much and should feel very proud.

Hi Una, we are all so proud of you to have achieved so much, take heart in that. We must keep battling on in our quest to highlight this ignored cancer and things will change, they must.

Recently I was nominated to take part in a cancer charity "Courage on the Catwalk", the application form was akin to applying for a job but nevertheless, I was chosen to take part in this high profile event, (probably due to the fact that 3 people nominated me), I was undergoing my third round of chemo in 3 years at the time and over £50,000 was raised on the day. My oncology team were delighted that someone with a gynae cancer had been chosen because we are normally ignored and that this would go a long way to highlight things! Hmmm! While I felt humbled on the day to be taking part, it did rankle to find that ladies who had had breast cancer or women with young families had their story filmed and shown on large screens throughout the show as well as featured in the press and radio on the run up - yes it was the same ladies each time. Friends and family kept asking me why my story had not been told, apart from a few lines in the programme about each of us, there was no mention of OC. Out of 24 models if my memory serves me right, 16 had survived breast cancer. OK breast cancer is the most common, but it is also the one with the highest survival rate.

This is breast Cancer awareness month, lets make sure OC awareness in March is not hidden under its usual bushel!!

I couldn't agree More , i get so angry at the publicity that breast cancer gets and we that have OC get little snippits in the paper and minimal publicity , Lets do all we can to make March the biggest and loudest Ovarian Cancer month ever .. I for 1 am planning to do a charity night with lots of my entertainment friends helping out in our local club , (hopefully i won't be back on treatment ) and hopefully get as much publicity as possible .. i am so sick of being made to feel our illness is any less important than breast .. x

All of the above i agree with, who wants to see celebs hogging the lime light as usual. and the real pride of britain stuck at the back where nobody could see them. Why did they not just go around all of the pride of britain winners so all those watching could pick out those we really wanted to see, instead of silly celebs trying to look good for the cameras as usual making it their show, WE ARE SO PROUD OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR O.V. UNA NOTHING CAN TAKE AWAY THE PRIDE WE ALL HAVE IN YOU.

Fondest Love To You and Your Family Jenny xxx

3 years agoHidden

Im with you there Jenny, you have hit the nail on the head. We really need to get Ovarian on the map BIGTIME ! and March should come in with a ROAR for all of us. Una you just hang on to the fact that you won the Regional Finalist Award, well done you, don't let it spoil that. Love Trish xx

I'm just so disappointed for you (and all concerned with Ovarian Cancer) You've worked SO hard to publicise the facts and symptoms and raise funds. You must be feeling very flat and let down at the way in which you were treated. I'm sure that WE all think you're our Winner to get so far and we're proud of you.

You must be very tired and need a really good rest now - and deserve it. Be kind to yourself and let your lovely family pamper you. I hope you'll be able to put a photo up for us to see you in your super outfit, sometime.

You are a wonderful lady , come what may ; we watched last night , hoping and hoping to catch a glimpse of you , cheering from East London ! So disappointing for you , and the community .

Your fortitude is still magnificent , and yes , it's sad that we all have to keep complaining , but I have discovered late in life , that channelled anger can be positive : and , alleviate anxiety , a bonus. .

Una you looked fabulous in teal loved the eye shadow and the ear rings. plus your head scarf all went together so well, can we get one of the whole dress,? now concentrate on getting more chemo. that works for you, and getting well so we can all follow your amazing example .love Jenny xxx

I watched your interview though on UTV . Una you looked beautiful, spoke very well and with great dignity. Don't let the disappointment detract from the satisfaction of knowing what you have achieved - so far!!

Hi una well done anyway for ur award and trying to spread the word with ur leaflets to celebrities whilst u wer there u never no wot will come out of that... I too was so disappointed not to see ur story. I had told all my family and friends a couple of them with OC from Northern Ireland also to watch as u wud be on it... In fact I was raging. U have done amazing by getting awarded in the first place well done.

Please don't let any disappointment in London detract from having been voted N Ireland's Pride of Britain. This is in itself a extraordinary achievement and you've done the most important thing which is to raise awarensss of Ovarian Cancer in N Ireland. You've already done so much in demanding better treatment for women over there. and you've convinced your government to put in place an awarensess raising campaign.

Use your award to your benefit from now on and keep up the impetus in N Ireland. The small group of us here in Wales have been inspired by everything you've done. You're our role model. You looked beautiful on the night. Better than any of the 'stars' and in my eyes, and many others, you were the star of the event.

Good for you to write to the producers. I wonder whether the event design consulted deeply with the participants. Perhaps they'll sit up and take note and realise that the show needs a rethink. We've had a similar setback here shooting a TV report which promised to focus on three friends and they've decided in their wisdom to film two because it makes a 'better' story. This is a huge disappointment to us but we can only hope and trust that the TV producer is right and the programme will raise awareness of ovarian cancer and the inequalities for patients in Wales.

I'm hoping to watch the show on catch-up TV when I get home this evening. If you have a full-length photo please do add it to this blog.

So sorry Una that you were seated at the back of the hall. I too expected ALL the winners to go up on stage at the end and was looking for your teal outfit! I'd also love to see a picture please! I was disappointed to see all the celebs sat at the front, that wasn't right at all. I have to agree with comments above though, you are an amazing lady and definitely 'Our Pride of Britain' and you are doing an amazing job of highlighting Ovarian Cancer. Hope your chemo goes well.

All your lovely comments made me cry. Thank you all so very much. For me it was never about not being in the limelight, it was about being denied the golden opportunity to platform our disease on national tv which would have raised profile and maybe brought donations in to our ovarian cancer chartities and also to fund more research. If all our regions took the tme to vote us in as their winner then not only were treated unjustly but our regional areas were too.It was so obvious on the night. A lot of the winners who were on stage had done one of things which I know deserved to be acknowledged but some of the regional winners with me had dedicated years of their lives in service of people and were not even mentioned.It was just all wrong.To make it even worse today in daily mirror I saw that all the winners were invited to 10 downing street with mr. cameron this morning, once again we were not included. In the daily mirror today not one picture or mention of any of us as if we were not there at all.!!.I have emailed them and told them the format would need to change as all winners should be treatted equallly .Over here in N. ireland I have been bombarded with calls and emails of people who are so annoyed and Itold them to email pride of britain.If you want something to change you have to speak out. Thats what I believe anyway. it wont deter me I will go on doing what I have to to make our voices heard . I am so touched by you all and your comments. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.Una x

I am so sorry this has happened , it really is so unfair....you looked fantastic though in your beautiful teal dress...please try to just reflect on how much you have done....you will always be our special Queen of the "Pride of Britain". I am from the South of Ireland and so was particularly proud to hear that you had done so well.